xp_logs | Marie and Sooraya

Marie stops by Sooraya's room to drop off some clothes she picked up in town. Despite the fact that they only have about three shared words between, she and Sooraya manage to communicate well enough to make friends.

Marie juggled the packages she was holding as she made her way down the hallway. The tailor who helped with her gloves had been able to recommend some eclectic shops where she had located her purchases and she hoped that some of them would be what Sooraya was used to back home. Of course, the fact that she knew absolutely no Pashto except for the smattering of words scrawled on a piece of paper in her pocket, was sure to make figuring that out a little more difficult. After one last mental review of the words that Nate had taught her, she used her foot to knock on the door, trying to put an friendly and inviting look on her face.

There was a long pause before the door opened and Sooraya peeked out, a bit apprehensively. Usually Nate announced himself, which must mean that this was a stranger... and it was. She blinked at Marie, knowing better than to assume that this woman spoke her language, too. "~Hello~," she said anyway, having forgotten the English greeting that Nate had taught her a few days before in her surprise.

Marie continued to smile and nodded at the girl. She held the packages up and towards Sooraya, hoping that whatever the girl at just said was a greeting. "~May I come in?~" Her accent and the halting manner in which she spoke made it readily apparant that she did not speak Pashtu and was reciting the words from memory.

"~Yes, please.~" Sooraya shuffled backwards, still wearing the same long robe that had covered her during the kidnapping and the long jet ride to the mansion. It was slightly dusty and looked a little worse for the wear, but what else did she have to wear?

Marie let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She took Sooraya's movement as a sign that she could enter and set her packages down on a table. Pointing to herself, she simply said "Marie." She then pointed at Sooraya, down at the packages and then back at Sooraya.

Though the girl didn't say anything it was easy enough for Marie to read the look of surprise on her face. She glanced at the packages, then pointed at herself and raised her eyebrows. For me?

Marie gestured again and then picked up a package from the top of the pile and held it out to Sooraya. She wished she could have brought Nate or Doug along for this visit to help with explaining and understanding, but she'd wondered about bringing a male along with a gift of clothes. "Clothes, for you," she said in English, even though she knew Sooraya wouldn't understand.

It seemed they really were for her... Sooraya wondered what they were. Slowly she stepped forward to take the package from Marie, then shuffled backward to perch on a chair and rest the package on her lap. She tugged at the wrappings, her eyes widening as they opened to reveal a pair of long, loose-fitting trousers and a tunic with full-length sleeves and a modest neckline. Clean clothes! Looking up at Marie, Sooraya couldn't keep the smile off her lips. "~These are for me?~" she asked again, rubbing a finger over the soft fabric.

Marie's face lit up at the smile on young girl's face. The clerks had been helpful, but she'd still worried that somehow she'd pick out the wrong cut or color or whatever. She could only imagine how it would feel to be ripped from the life you knew and brought to another country, she figured the least Sooraya deserved were familiar, comfortable clothing. Marie pointed to the clothes in Sooraya's lap and then at three other large packages. She then mimed wrapping a scarf around her head and pointed at a few smaller packages. The remaining packages held other essentials that Sooraya could open in privacy.

Sooraya nodded, neatly putting the clothes back in their wrappings and setting them aside. Once again she was overwhelmed - she had never had that many sets of clothing to herself in her life. She wrinkled her nose for a minute, thinking hard, and then she brightened. "T-thank you," she said softly, using the first phrase she had asked Nate to teach her.

"You're welcome," Marie said as she continued to grin and nodded. She bit her lip as she tried to remember the words from Nate, shrugged apologetically and pulled the scrap of paper out of her pocket. She squinted at it as she mouthed the words, then looked up at Sooraya and spoke slowly. "~Need anything else?~"

"~No, nothing,~" Sooraya replied, shaking her head. Surpringly, this stilted conversation was still more than thrilling for her - she thought this new woman was very kind, and was glad to get the chance to meet her despite the language barrier. "Thank you," she added again, giving Marie another shy smile.

Marie was relieved that the meeting between the two had gone so well. She had been nervous and she could only imagine how Sooraya had felt.Maybe Ah can get Doug to teach me some other words. Must be hard for her, with only a few people who speak her language. "My pleasure," she said as she smiled to indicate she was pleased to be able to help.

Another thought crossed her mind and she searched the room for something. Triumphantly holding up a piece of paper, she then scribbled on it for a few minutes before handing it to Sooraya. The crudely drawn map had a stick figure with something vaguely resembling a scarf in one part and one with a chunk of white hair and gloves in another. Walking her fingers across her palm, she pointed to Sooraya, then to herself and then to the map, smiling helplessly and hoping the other girl would understand.

Looking over the map, Sooraya furrowed her brow, tracing a finger between the two figures. Some of the twists and turns between them seemed familiar... others less so. Still, maybe she would be able to follow them if she ever needed to find the other woman again. Glancing up, she smiled and nodded, holding up the map. "~I understand,~" she said, though it was doubtful Marie understood her.

Marie nodded, satisfied that the girl had understood her intention. Standing, she mimed moving a fork to her mouth and pointed at the door, then pointed at Sooraya and shrugged her shoulders with a questioning look on her face. She was hungry and she didn't know if anyone had shown the new girl the kitchen yet.

Sooraya didn't want to say so, but she was secretly looking foward to unwrapping the rest of the packages Marie had brought and seeing what lay within them. She smiled but shook her head at Marie's offer, and the other woman nodded and waved as she departed. The last thing Marie heard as she made her way down the hall was another quiet 'Thank you', followed by the soft but undeniable sound of the packages rustling as Sooraya began to open them up as well.